Fourth Amendment
Court Positions
In O\'Connor v. Ortega, the Supreme Court introduced a distinct framework for evaluating warrantless searches in government workplaces, a framework that can be extended to apply to computer searches. In O\'Connor v. Ortega, the Supreme Court commented that it is well settled that individuals do not lose Fourth Amendment rights merely because they work for the government instead of a private employer. In addition, the restrictions of the Fourth Amendment have long been applied to the conduct of government officials such as school officials and building and safety inspectors. Based on this precedent, the Court found that searches and seizures by government employers or supervisors of the private property of their employees are also subject to the requirements of the Fourth Amendment. The Court determined, however that public employees\' expectations of privacy in their offices, desks, and file cabinets, like similar expectations of employees in the private sector, may be reduced by virtue of actual office practices and procedures, or by legitimate regulation.
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